On Sunday at any conference, many people might not have been in good enough shape to ready to go at 9:30am. Not at #BBC11! These 8 bloggers gave some pretty neat presentations on a variety of different topics…all while keeping up with a full blog-load and of course their day jobs. Kudos to them for getting these together, and I can’t wait until next year’s set…though I would have loved if each one would have more than 10 minutes, so questions and such could have been fielded.
I) Road Trips made easier!
Gerard Walen led off with a bunch of giveaways after gently poking fun at @brewersdaughter and the city of Cleveland.
His key points:
1) Use a book!
ex: Indiana Breweries by John Holl and Nate Schweber
Michael Jackson (of course) 1996 (20 Portalnd, 30 Oregon) mostly brewpubs
2) Beer Trails
ex: Maine Beer Trail – online and in-print
Empire State Brewery Trails
Bend Ale Trail
3) Apps: Into the 21st Century
ex: SF Beer Week -> great app!
East Atlanta Beer Fest
4) Beer Tours
ex: Bon Beer Voyage: Tourist company with only beer -> Domestic, Italy, Belgium
Beer Cycling -> Belgium 1900-mile bike trip
Row Adventures
Zephyr Adventures -> of course! Colorado is coming up!
Audience suggestions:
Beermapping.com
RateBeer’s brewery locator
II) Pairing Outside The Box
Zachary Rosen – Santa Barbara Beer Examiner
Absinthe-lover orignally…interesting!
Beer pairs with Life not just food -> applies to art as well!
Music + Beer -> Bitches Brew etc. (This is a great point!)
ex: Fantasia + Delirium Tremens = Trippy Magic
Movies:
ex: Wayne’s World + Hops
Usual Suspects
Wizard of Oz
Lebowski + Arrogant Bastard = BRILLIANCE!
Bicycling again -> Tour de Fat from New Belgium
Also other racing/sports events -> pair with that!
His “local” example was great!
ZooBrew -> Santa Barbara Zoo
III) Tatiana + Carla -> Tapping into Sponsors
Tatiana’s Story:
– Timeframe must be sorted.
– Build rapport with the potential sponsor.
– Brand loyalty -> North Coast woohoo!
– Professional responsibility -> how you act or hold yourself.
– Represent your “fan” brand.
– Name your price.
– Tell them what you’re going to give for said price.
– Stay true to yourself, but give back to the sponsor.
Carla’s Story:
– How do I ask people to give me money for a beer conference? Doesn’t want to be the PBS fundraising person. (LOL)
– How much?
-What if I don’t make my goal?
Her solution: She used Rockethub.com for an Internet/social media-based campaign. Offered incentives of stickers, shirts, and other trinkets. Did a blog-athon. Pushed exposure.
My favorite idea she mentioned: Short video blogs about sponsors -> really cool.
Overall:
– Don’t be afraid to ask people to pass along your message.
– Thanking people is also promotion.
– Support can come from anywhere.
– Planning and followthrough are key.
IV) Writing With Humor
Ann Fitten-Glenn (@brewgasm)
She pushed Draft Magazine’s Too Hopped for TV ads
It’s very special to laugh…even from just a small bit of writing. It can get you noticed!!
If you’re a stand-up comedian, there’s body language, facial expression, etc., but words are key. Choose them wisely, especially for humor.
Added emphasis on to words to provoke laughter.
Pacing is also key…punchline…literally. Put your funniest line at the end of the paragraph. Laughter-inducing climax.
“Beer adoloscents” hilarious.
One thing not to do: Try not to be snarky. Most people can’t pull it off.
Don’t be afraid to make fun of yourself. Self-deprication can also be funny. Humility is a great place to source your funny from.
Find and tell funny stories that make your point.
Anxiety-producing subject matter are great subjects for humor.
Note that everyone has the same sense of humor. Example? Pubic hair dye.
V) Dictation Software
Sean Jansen (@2beerguys)
Dictation software + iPhone app demo -> opened Dragonpad.
He “felt like Steve Jobs.” – awesome
New Cloud App Paperport sounded neat as well.
Great app tips!
VI) Curation
with Dave Jensen (@Beer47)
Curation is NOT aggregation.
Just take the relative pieces of what you need.
When approaching, think of a museum…not a warehouse.
Why does it matter? It makes sense of information overload.
ex: Oslo bombings -> aggregation -> curation -> news story
Why should you curate? -> It increases your knowledge and expertise and reputation.
“Create content without having to CREATE it yourself.”
Great list of curation tools -> Storify, Paper.li, Storyful, Scoop.it, Pearltress
Demo of Storify: Neat…just drag and drop with it! Pull in links and other content from other websites!
VII) Photography’s Role In Blogging
Chris Rauch from Baltimore MD aka @BeerSimple
Photography can really capture a user’s attention.
Food blogs are really good at this….beer blogs could and should be the same way.
ex: Food + beer in photo = WIN
Smartphones are giving people the ability to post photos from anywhere.
Great advice: DSLR cameras are great…complete control. Crank up ISO or aperture to really get a clear shot. Lower shutter speed for motion.
Make the pics as big as you can. -> THIS IS ALSO HUGELY IMPORTANT (pun intended)
More great advice -> Get on press release lists! Free advertising for them, great pictures for you!
Ton of resources on the web about photography.
Key takeaways:
Start shooting!
Take MULTIPLE photos.
Embrace your nerddom!
VIII) My Blogging Experience
@Huckfinbeerbuzz, baby!
Started off with “Shit that pisses me off”. -> Approximately a million people also did it as well, but only about 10 things piss him off. (I am sure a number of people went through this.)
Blogspot -> B2Evolution -> WordPress transitions (I am sure a number of people also went through this.)
Changing the skin on wordpress -> Challenging!
“This phone just talks.”
“Phone…check.
Phone…check.
Still camera…check.
Flip Video recorder…check.”
“WAIT! We need more cords, and cords, and cords!”
“WAIT! No outlet!
I need Battery Backup!”
“I need a flashlight to see and find everything!”
“And of course, Aleve, to cure the headache.”
Social Media is great, but don’t argue over IPA v. Hefe…
You’re both gonna have a beer and have a good time!